Peg and hoop exercising toy



June 1, 1965 w. c. voss 3,186,124

PEG AND HOOP EXERCISING TOY Filed Nov. 13, 1962 IN VENTO/Z WILLIAM C. VOSS I BY 2/6 men/5Y5 United States PatentO 7 3,186,124 PEG AND HOOP EXERCISING TOY William C. Voss, 4473 W. 7th Ave, Vancouver,

British Columbia, Canada 1 Filed Nov. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 237,174 4 Claims. (Cl. 46-51) This invention relates to hoop exercising toys.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a toy which requires skill for its operation, and provides considerable enjoyment and fun during the manipulation thereof.

Another object is the provision of a toy adapted to be attached to parts of a persons body and which requiresmanipulation of the body for its operation, thereby providing considerable exercise.

The vast majority of the toys on the market today merely provide amusement, but do not require any effort on the part of the person playing with it and does not require any greatshow of intelligence for its operation. The present toy is such that it requires the operator to concentrate on what he is doing, and it requires considerable skill for its operation. In addition to this, it takes considerable exertion to operate the toy so that the person manipulating it is at the same time exercising himself. In spite of the fact that skill and exercise are required, the operation of the toy provides enjoyment for the person operating it and for anyone looking on during the operation.

The toy may be attached to different parts of the body. It may be attached to a persons waist so that it is manipulated by the person twisting his torso through regular gyrations. Furthermore, the toy may be attached to a persons head, back, arm or leg, thus requiring difierent types of skill, and exercising different parts of the body. This helps to maintain interest since once a person becomes skilled at operating the toy with one part of his body, he can change it to another where he has to learn a different form of manipulation. Considerable enjoyment is provided for the user and onlookers when the user attaches the toy to a portion of his body which he does not manipulate any too well.

A hoop exercising toy according to the present invention comprises the combination of a peg, securing means connected to the peg for attaching it to part of a persons body with the peg'projecting substantially horizontally outwardly therefrom, and a hoop adapted to be hung on said peg in order that the person by manipulating said part of his body, may cause the hoop to swing around the peg. Although it seems to be a simple matter to manipulate the toy properly, it is not so easy, and a per son has to practice a great deal in order to learn how to manipulate his body in order to cause the hoop to swing around the peg without falling off of it. In a preferred form of the invention, the peg has a friction surface. This prevents the hoop from sliding off the peg too easily, and it seems to give-a person a little better control of the hoop than he would have without the friction surface.

A preferred form of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the hoop exercising toy, and

FIGURE 2 diagrammatically illustrates the toy attached to a person approximately at his waist.

Referring to the drawings, 10 is a hoop exercising toy comprising a peg 11 which is preferably circular in cross section. Although not absolutely necessary, it is definitely preferable to provide the peg with a friction surface. The surface may be roughened in any suitable manner, such as by coarse sandpaper, or it may have a layer of sandpaper applied thereto, but the most satisfactory way of providing the friction surface is to apply a coat 12 of a rubberized cement which coagulates ondrying to produce a rough rubbery coating that is almost tacky.

Suitable means is provided to enable the peg to be attached to parts of a persons body. A preferred way of doing this is to provide a base 15 to which the inner end 16 of peg 12 is firmlysecured. This peg is located centrally of the base and is normal thereto. Securing means is connected to the base to attach the latter to the operator or manipulator. As it is desirable to attach the peg to the operator in such a way that he has control of the movement thereof, the attaching means is preferably in the form of cords secured to opposite edges of base 15. In this example, spaced cords 20 and 21 are secured to base 15 at one side of peg 11. These cords have ends which are secured together at 22. Actually, cords 20 and 21 may be formed of a single cord which is connected at one end 23 to a corner of the base, and at its other end 24 to a lower corner of said base. Similarly, spaced cords 23 and 29 are connected at other ends at 30. Cords 28 and 29 are actually formed from a single cord attached at one end 31 to a corner of base 15, and at an opposite end 32 to a lower corner of the base.

Suitable means is provided for releasably connecting the outer ends of pairs of cords 20-21 and 28-29 together. In this example, a buckle 35 is connected by a short strap 36 to the ends of cords 20-21, and a strap 37 is connected to the other ends of cords 28-29, said strap. having a plurality of spaced holes 38 therein.

Toy It is completed by a hoop 40 formed of plastic or other suitable material. This hoop is adapted to be hung on peg 11. The hoop may be of any desired size, but it is preferably not too big relative to the peg. For example, with a peg of about one inch in diameter, the hoop would be about 15 inches in diameter. However, it is to be understood that these dimensions may be altered as desired. 7 1

FIGURE 2 diagrammatically illustrates the exercising toy Ill attached to the players waist. Cords 20-21 and 28-29 extend around the sides of the body, and strap 37 is attached to buckle 35 at the players back firmly to hold base 15 against the front of the body with peg 11 projecting substantially horizontally outwardly therefrom. The object of the game is to manipulate the body so as to move peg 15 substantially through a circular path while maintaining it approximately horizontal to cause hoop 40 to swing rapidly around the peg. If the toy is manipulated properly, the hoop swings around the peg with its outermost portion travelling along the path 42 indicated by a broken line in FIGURE 1. This requires a great deal of concentration and thought, and during the manipulation of the body, the player has to use muscles throughout his entire body, both those which are commonly used and many which are not often used. Thus, considerable skill is required and a player exercises approximately his entire body. It has been found that the necessary gyrations and the difiiculties involved create a lot of enjoyment for both the player and anyone observing his operation.

Toy 10 may be applied to other parts of the body, such as, for example, the head, back, arm, leg, etc. Different skills are required for manipulating the toy properly by means of the different parts of the body. It will readily be seen that a great deal of fun can be created when a person attempts to swing the hoop around the peg with a part of the body he has some ditficulty in manipulating.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A hoop exercising toy comprising, in combination, a flat base, a peg projecting outwardly from the base and having an unobstructed outer end, securing means connected to the base for holding said base fiatly and firmly against the front of a persons body with the peg projecting substantially horizontally outwardly from said body,

and a hoop adapted to be hung on said peg in order that the person by manipulating his body may cause the hoop to swing around the peg.

2. A hoop exercising toy comprising, in combination, a flat base, a peg projecting outwardly from the base and having a roughened friction surface and an unobstructed outer end, securing means connected to the base for holding said base flatly and firmly against the front of a persons body with the peg projecting substantially horizontally outwardly from said body, and a hoop adapted to be hung on said peg in order that the person by manipulating his body may cause the hoop to swing around the peg, said roughened friction surface helping to keep the hoop from slipping off the unobstructed end of the peg during proper manipulation of the body to keep the toy in operation.

3. A hoop exercising toy comprising, in combination, a fiat base, a peg projecting outwardly from the base substantially centrally thereof and having an unobstructed outer end, a pair of spaced cords secured to the base on one side of the peg, a pair of spaced cords secured to the base on the other side of the peg, each pair of cords having outer ends secured together, means for removably securing the outer ends of the two pairs of cords together, whereby the base may be held firmly against the front of a persons body with the peg projecting substantially horizontally outwardly from said body, and a hoop adapted to be hung on said peg in order that the person by manipulating his body may cause the hoop to swing around the peg.

4. A hoop exercising toy comprising, in combination, a flat base, a peg projecting outwardly from the base substantially centrally thereof and having a roughened friction surface and an unobstructed outer end, a pair of spaced cords secured to the base on one side of the peg, a pair of spaced cords secured to the base on the other side of the peg, each pair of cords having outer ends secured together, means for removably securing the outer ends of the two pairs of cords together, whereby the base may be held firmly against the front of a persons body with the peg projecting substantially horizontally outwardly from said body, and a hoop adapted to be hung on said peg in order that the person by manipulating his body may cause the hoop to swing around the peg, said roughened friction surface helping to keep the hoop from slipping off the unobstructed end of the peg during proper manipulation of said body to keep the toy in operation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HOOP EXERCISING TOY COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A FLAT BASE, A PEG PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM THE BASE AND HAVING AN UNOBSTRUCTED OUTER END, SECURING MEANS CONNECTED TO THE BASE FOR HOLDING SAID BASE FLATLY AND FIRMLY AGAINST THE FRONT OF A PERSON''S BODY WITH THE PEG PROJECTING SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY OUTWARDLY FROM SAID BODY, AND A HOOP ADAPTED TO BE HUNG ON SAID PEG IN ORDER THAT THE PERSON BY MANIPULATING HIS BODY MAY CAUSE THE HOOP TO SWING AROUND THE PEG. 